Car Wash
Universal Pictures | Release Date: October 22, 1976 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
In its erratic narrative, random assortment of characters, and omnipresent soundtrack, Car Wash captures something perfectly: the rhythms of a working-class work day. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The screenplay and the direction juggle the characters so adroitly, this is almost a wash-and-wax MASH. Read full review
80
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
The remarkable thing is the way characters, jokes and meaning are dovetailed into a single rhythmic flow that makes the film look like TV's Laugh-In redesigned as a Minnelli musical. Highly enjoyable. Read full review
75
TV Guide Magazine
Low-key comedy detailing a day in the life of an L.A. car wash, featuring an ensemble cast of superb performers. Read full review
75
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Critics seemed to like this less than audiences; personally I had a ball. Read full review
70
The New York TimesVincent Canby
A cheerful, somewhat vulgar, very cleverly executed comedy about what goes on in a single 10-hour period in a Los Angeles car wash. Read full review
70
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Car Wash uses gritty humor to polish clean the souls of a lot of likeable street people. Read full review
50
The New YorkerPauline Kael
A junk-food mixture of poetry, black anger, bathroom humor, and routines that have come through the sit-com mill.
50
NewsweekJanet Maslin
Using none of the sharp, ironic juxtapositions that lent its predecessors so much energy, Car Wash is content to be just a day in the life of the title establishment. [04 Oct 1976, p.89]
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